A journey to the heart of Japan
One of the most vivid descriptions of travel in 17th century Japan is provided by the Dutchman, Engelbert Kaempfer. He was a doctor attached to the Dutch East India Company, based at the island of Dejima in Nagasaki. He made the long journey to Edo twice, in 1691 and 1692, as part of the alternate… [Read more]
Every Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine offers a variety of prayer tablets, amulets and talismans to worshippers for protection in a wide variety of endeavors ranging from traffic safety to success in examinations to success in business. While some of these are purchased to put in a specific place (to attach to a briefcase or… [Read more]
Daruma are doll-like representations of the Indian priest Bodhidharma who founded the school of Buddhist meditation which became Chan Buddhism in China or Zen Buddhism in Japan. Bodhidharma, or Daruma, is popularly believed to have spent so much time in meditation that his legs atrophied. Hence, the daruma dolls have no representations of legs; they… [Read more]
In the , the definition of a daimyo was a lord with an assessed tax income of 10,000 koku (1 koku equals about 5 US bushels) from rice land. Sometimes, the lesser daimyo were called shomyo, changing the character for big (dai) with the character for small (sho). They were, of course, military men who… [Read more]
In contrast to many larger castle towns such as Hikone or Takasaki relatively little survives in Annaka today to suggest that this place was also the castle town of a daimyo in the Edo period. In part this is due to the small size of Annaka. By the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868… [Read more]
Finding one’s way along the highways of old Japan was not difficult. The distance between post-towns was usually just a few miles, and the road was marked by namiki (trees lining the highway) and the occasional stone signpost. Ichirizuka marked off exactly how far had been traveled. Nevertheless, as with today’s traveler, most people preferred… [Read more]
Manga (cartoons and comics) are one of the most striking aspects of Japanese life today. Whether reading the newspaper, looking at advertisements or watching television, manga seem to be everywhere. One only has to ride the commuter trains and see primary school children, university students and middle-aged businessmen pouring over 450-page volumes of ‘Boy’s Champion’… [Read more]
For miles around the gentle slopes to the west of Karuizawa there are besso (‘country villas’ or ‘second homes’) scattered on sizable, secluded plots of land. Rustic, often Western style homes for vacation use in the summer or on the weekend are all over the place. Similar vacation areas with besso can be found in… [Read more]
It is virtually impossible not to find Western influences in Japan. Walk along the Nakasendo and within a mile or two the traveler will pass a roadside shrine no bigger than a doll house. Somebody will have left off a small bunch of flowers, perhaps some wild flowers, perhaps some weed flowers, carefully placed in… [Read more]
Karuizawa might have shrunk into quiet decay like many old post-towns, including neighboring Oiwake, but instead it has developed into a summer resort area. Its population of about 20,000 can be swamped by the tens of thousands of visitors up from Tokyo for a week or a day. Karuizawa was “discovered” by foreign missionaries around… [Read more]
Getting married in any society is not an easy business and in Japan, even though the idea of ‘love matches’ has come into vogue, marriage carries many social overtones. It is the joining of two families of equal or nearly equal social status as much as the joining of two individuals. As such, the interests… [Read more]
In the 17th century Kaempfer wrote, ‘There is hardly a public Inn upon the great Island Nipon, but what may be called a bawdy-house’. He describes as many as six or seven ‘wenches’ at each inn sitting near the door attracting the custom of travelers. Although officially called serving maids (meshi-mori onna), it is quite… [Read more]
Oiwake means, literally, a ‘parting of the way’ or road junction. Post-towns were often situated at these junctions and because of the larger volume of traffic through them, they tended to be larger than other towns. Examples are Oiwake (which together with some other villages takes its name from the junction), Shimo-suwa, Kusatsu (at the… [Read more]
There are many foreign workers in Japan although it is difficult to say how many because large numbers are present illegally. Estimates of illegal immigrant workers ranged from 100,000 to 400,000 in 1994, but since the immigration authorities do not seek to check into the problem too thoroughly, any number is a mere estimate. This… [Read more]
Major disasters such as those caused by earthquakes, typhoons, floods, fires, volcanic eruptions or tidal waves (tsunami) are a preoccupation throughout Japanese history. They have left the Japanese with a profound sense that impermanence is the only permanent feature of life. The list of disasters which has struck Japan is longer than need be related…. [Read more]
Volcanoes are common in Japan and are found along and to the west of a line running approximately down the middle of the main island of Honshu, the southern island of Kyushu, and the northern island of Hokkaido. They result from the friction of tectonic plates as the Pacific Plate bends and passes under the… [Read more]
Mt. Asama is situated at the junction of two volcanic fronts in Japan and is therefore one of the more active of the ‘active volcanoes’. Although puffing smoke constantly, the last major eruption was on August 5, 1783, but 50 other ventings have been recorded. It now stands 8,338 feet high, but like Mt. St…. [Read more]
The traditional meal centers on rice to such an extent that the word gohan means both rice and a meal. Rice was the main dish and was eaten in great quantities with side dishes of vegetables, meats, and soy bean-products supplementing the main course. In modern times, however, rice has declined in importance as prosperity… [Read more]
Anyone who visits Japan, especially during the year end celebrations in December and January, will realize that the level of alcohol consumption in Japan is fairly high. The number of happily drunk men, and recently an increasing number of women, on public transport is unmistakable. At many festivals, especially cherry blossom viewing, picnics, and outings,… [Read more]
Festivals in Japan are many and varied, and in recent years, they have become popular again after experiencing disapproval and obscurity in the decades immediately after 1945. Many festivals are connected with the Shinto religion or have roots in the feudal periods, such as Boys’ Day. Because the values or attitudes embedded in them have… [Read more]
Held on March 3, Girls’ Festival features a display of dolls representing the imperial court displayed on a platform with the emperor and empress at the top and lower ranked attendants or entertainers below. A meal with special foods and candies is also prepared for the occasion. The modern festival gained popularity in all classes… [Read more]
Boys’ festival falls on May 5 and is officially designated as Children’s Day with due respect to prohibitions against sexual discrimination (since 1948). During the ten or so days surrounding the day, it is customary for families with male children to set up a pole topped by decorations. On the pole are hoisted a streamer… [Read more]
Bathing seldom appears as a major topic in books about Japan of a ‘serious’ nature. Historians and geographers alike usually look at more ‘significant’ topics although they will gladly extol the pleasures of a hot bath if you ask them face to face. The bath, or ofuro, however, is hardly insignificant. Not only does it… [Read more]
Pollution is endemic in the modern world unless strenuous efforts to prevent it are undertaken. Large numbers of people and industries concentrated in small areas and consuming large quantities of resources are major sources of pollution. Japan certainly fits this description. Immediately after World War II, the primary goal of the government and industry was… [Read more]
Japan, like all industrial nations, has experienced more and more difficulty disposing of waste products. The production of trash for each person rose from 1.75 pounds per day in 1977 to nearly 2 pounds in 1987 while the total output in Japan rose from around 90,000 tons to 108,500 tons per day in the same… [Read more]
Ichinomiya means the first or most important shrine and refers to the main Shinto shrine in a province (the provincial system has been replaced by the present prefectural system). These shrines continue, in most cases, to be among the main Shinto shrines. The granting of special status to important shrines dates back to the 8th… [Read more]
Springs (onsen) have been valued for centuries as places to bathe; nothing is better for relaxation and there are medicinal benefits as well. Hot springs may also be used as an energy source: to produce electricity, heat the public bath, defrost the public roads, and even heat greenhouses where vegetables are grown. Most people, however,… [Read more]
Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) has been described as the prime example of the Warring States period daimyo in that he was tremendously successful in accomplishing limited, regional goals (expansion of his domains) by means of a series of temporary alliances which were quickly broken or reformed according to the need of the moment. Regional success was… [Read more]
Mt. Fuji or Fujisan (not Fujiyama which is a misreading of the final character that means mountain) has become a well-known symbol of Japan to foreigners and a point of natural beauty of great pride to the Japanese. Wood block-print artists like Hiroshige did much to popularize the mountain through their works and in the… [Read more]
Eleven miles in circumference, but only 25 feet deep at the most, the proximity of Lake Suwa to surrounding hot springs, and the fine view across the Lake to Mount Fuji make it a popular tourist destination. The fame of the lake is due to the fact that it ices over every year from December… [Read more]
Walk Japan Ltd.
1736 Radio City,
505 Hennessy Road,
Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong SAR
© Copyright 2021 Walk Japan
